In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to address the proliferation of duplicative utility poles in our Commonwealth.  Commonly called ‘double poles’ or ‘ghost poles’, these eyesores are often both unsafe and unsightly. 

Telephone or electric poles are a common sight in my district and necessary to provide services that are integral to my constituents’ lives. These poles do have a lifespan, however. This means that they need to be replaced in the regular course of business due to age or due to an accident rendering the old pole unusable.  Typically, this results in a new pole being installed nearby and all the attachments to the old pole should migrate over to the new pole. Unfortunately, this can take a very long time and there is no meaningful recourse for interested parties as it stands today.

My bill seeks to change that by directing the Public Utility Commission to being a rulemaking on this topic using its powers procured by reverse preemption at PUC docket number L-2018-3002672. This rulemaking shall consider coordination, indemnity, timelines, and cost allocations when a company refuses to relocate its facilities onto a new pole. Additionally, my bill would create a registry with current contacts for companies with pole attachments in the Commonwealth so that notice of relocation requests can be both quick and fair.

Having old, unused and unstable utility poles lingering around Pennsylvania benefits nobody. Please join me in working to solve this problem.